Paul Calvert spoke with Abigail, the promotions director from Lifeline for the Old

Abigail: We do have quite a few disabled people here. We have one workshop that was traditionally made specifically for rehabilitation and is a little bit more sensitive to the particular needs of certain people, but in general we believe that physical disability should not make anybody less able to contribute and its just a question of finding exactly what they can do and how they can do it. People amaze themselves if you give them the chance.

Paul: You make a lot of beautiful products here. Is a lot of this art therapy?

Abigail: I think there is always a therapeutic element, in a sense that it's not a coincidence that the work that we do is very creative. It is artistic and it brings pleasure to the people who buy the things and of course it's a pleasurable experience to make something beautiful. On the other hand we are very careful to say this is not art therapy as such because the purpose is really giving someone a job. The elderly know they are making things not just for themselves; they are making things that people are going to want to buy and that in itself gives them a tremendous feeling of pride; that they are making something that will appeal to someone and will be bought by someone and used by someone and loved by someone who may be living here in Jerusalem or could be as far away as Brazil or Poland or America or all around the world. It's amazing that their products and handy work is going to make someone else happy that they have never even met.

Paul: You must have wonderful characters with wonderful different stories. What sort of stories do they have?

Abigail: We do have a lot of people and it's interesting to hear the different stories. Unfortunately we have people who have had very difficult life experiences. We have several holocaust survivors who have really been through horrific things in their youth and young adulthood and its extraordinary to us that at their advanced age and after everything that they've been through that they can still find the strength to get up in the morning with a smile and come to work and be with their friends and be productive and keep going.

Paul: A lot of things that they make gets sold and goes around the world.

Abigail: Absolutely. We have a beautiful large gift shop here on the site. People tend to come and visit and meet the elderly and buy their products, but for the people who don't have a chance to go to Jerusalem we also sell a lot of the products online; in that way we can reach even more happy customers around the world.

Paul: What would these elderly people be doing if they weren't coming here?

Abigail: We really do believe they would be stuck at home on their own if it wasn't for them coming to Lifeline; because they don't really speak the language, because its very hard to learn a new language when you are 70-75 or 80-85; also they don't have the money to join some of the programmes that are available for seniors, which all charge fees. What's left then is just to sit at home in Government housing, watching television with really no reason to get up in the morning and that is a terrible scenario. We don't believe that anybody deserves that, that's why we are so happy that we are able to provide this wonderful opportunity for people to reconnect with wider society and to come back and feel connected.

Paul: Has Lifeline for the elderly become family for them?

Abigail: Very much so. It is very much a family atmosphere at Lifeline and of course people here form very close connections with the people that they sit with. Most of the people here stay for many years. We have at least 30-40 people who have been with us for more than 18 years and if you imagine what that's like, to come every weekday of the year for 18, 19, or 20 years along with many other people, they form wonderful connections. They speak their own languages to each other; they can speak Russian, Ethiopian, Spanish or Farsi Persian. For many people who have no spouse, they are widowed or children live far away, it's really their connection to the world.

Paul: Why do you get involved?

Abigail: I came and fell in love with this place the minute I walked in and even though I have been here at Lifeline for the Old for two and a half years, every time I meet the elderly again; every time I say good morning; whenever I see how happy they are to be here; how happy they are to see each other; how happy they are to be engaged in what they are doing; to be working and creating; to be useful and productive; it just makes me feel so happy and privileged to be a part of this wonderful organisation. That's why I am here.

Paul: What is your prayer for the elderly people in Jerusalem?

Abigail: My prayer for the elderly in Jerusalem is that they should not feel that because they are going into a more advanced stage of life that that's it and they have nothing to contribute anymore, but that they should feel whatever their personal situation or circumstances, that its not too late to start again, or continue what they are doing. When there is a will there is a way. There is always something to do; always people you can help and ways in which you can contribute. My prayer is also for the rest of us, that we should continue to value them and not think of them any less than we think of people who are younger; that we should value what they can do and what they can contribute and treat them like everybody else, as people who deserve just as much as what we all want for ourselves.

Paul: You have lots of amazing products on your website, what's your website address for people who would like to know more?

Abigail: Our website address is www.lifeline.org.il.